The United States Tax Court recently announced the adoption of certain amendments to its Rules of Practice and Procedure in several areas that impact taxpayers and practitioners with new or pending cases before the Tax Court.
Payments to the Tax Court
Payments to court, which previously were required to be made by cash, check or money order, may now be made electronically through Pay.gov.
Timing for Filing Documents with Tax Court
A paper may be filed electronically either during or outside of business hours, unless the paper relates to an ongoing trial session, in which case it generally must be filed at the session. A document electronically filed is considered timely if filed at or before 11:59 pm, Eastern Time, on the last day of the applicable period for filing. This amendment comports with the practice in other federal courts, e.g., US District Courts.
Electronic Signature
A signature on an electronic filing does not have to be handwritten if the filing meets the standards required by the court. An email address must be provided immediately beneath the signature.
Electronic Filing of Petitions
The court is in the process of implementing procedures to allow the electronic filing of a petition to commence a case. Additional information will be furnished to taxpayers on the Tax Court’s website in its electronic filings guidelines.
Evidence
In accordance with recent legislation, the Rules were updated to require the Tax Court to follow the Federal Rules of Evidence instead of the rules of evidence applicable in trials without a jury in the United States District Court for the District of Columbia.
Passport Actions
In accordance with recent legislation, new Rules address the court’s jurisdiction and review of determinations to certain passport revocation actions. Pursuant to the new tax law, the IRS has now authority to revoke travel passports of serious delinquent taxpayers.
Interest Abatement
Certain changes were made to the interest abatement rules and a corresponding change was made to the sample form of petition contained on the Tax Court’s website.